THE BIG NEWS this month is that TRAVELLER PRIME DIRECTIVE CORE RULEBOOK has been officially scheduled as a November release. It will be a $39.99 hardcover book. (When you're trying to launch a book this important, the wholesalers demand the full four-month advanced notice. We usually give them only one or two months.) Captain's Log #45 will be released in August.

In other news this month, the second annual Platinum Hat International On-Line SFB tournament has begun with 36 players (four more than last year). You can find information on the Discus BBS.

WEBSITE: Our website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions. Joel Shutts, our graphics director, continues to update the website, do covers for the new
products, shut down pirate websites, help out around the company, and learn more
about the game business. One of our newest pages is for Starline 2500 where we display photos and 3d renders of the new starships.

FACEBOOK: Jean continues to improve our page on Facebook, adding many new photos and other features.
If you haven't seen the 1,000+ pieces of art in the albums, you should drop by and visit. You don't have to be a member of Facebook to see our page, but if you are, please become our friend so you can get information in your newsfeed.

VIDEOS: StarFleetGames has taken its act to YouTube and we now have a YouTube channel. Our goal is to create a video for the new product releases during each month. We have "In the Box" videos to show you what you will see when you unpack your new game. We have also done "Spotlights" on a single product or product line. So pull up a chair and join us at the movies! Our newest uploads are:

STARBLOG: Our StarBlog has moved to a new URL
and all links on StarFleetGames.com websites have been changed to match. The new
site is http://federationcommander.blogspot.com
The blog covers all aspects of the company.

AMBASSADORS: Jean Sexton has succeeded in recruiting two ambassadors (Michael C. Baker and A. David Merritt) to carry the word of the Star Fleet Universe to other
websites. They (and Jean) were awarded the first ever "Star Fleet
Ambassador Badges" as well as appropriate medals for their service to date.
These ambassadors do not just repeat press releases; they answer questions,
encourage discussion, and help people find the relevant documents on our
website. Contact Jean Sexton if you want to volunteer for ambassador duty.
ForumBBS

JAGDPANTHER
Take a journey with us to an ancient age, just one step up from carving game rules on clay tablets. The year 1973 was at the very dawn of the independent wargame publishing companies. Typesetting was done with a manual typewriter, print-on-demand meant the photocopier at the library, counters were printed on paper (and drawn by hand), page layout was done with scissors and cellophane tape, and two guys in a garage could turn out a wargame magazine that won two Origins Awards. The point was creativity, new ideas, and imagination. Production values would have to come later.

That magazine was JagdPanther (Hunting Panther), created and run by the same Stephen V. Cole who later co-founded Task Force Games and then went on to found Amarillo Design Bureau. We found the ancient archives of this game company (which ran from 1973-1976, producing 15 magazines, about 50 games, hundreds of variants, and dozens of game reviews) and are now placing them on e23 so they are available to collectors. (Old issues have been selling on Ebay for over $100 each.) Issue #1, Issue #2, and Issue #3 are already there and further issues are being prepared for upload.

DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS

The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society is a big outfit, and has been around for a long time. They're always running events and conventions all over the US and elsewhere. Check their website (http://www.hmgs.org/) for information on this group and their upcoming events to find one near you. They allow non-historical miniatures gaming to have space at their events (although you should probably contact them before you just show up and start lining up starships on their tables). This may give you another opportunity to get together with SFU friends from around your region (as long as you are using Starline 2400 or Starline 2500 miniatures; they don't seem to understand cardboard counters). You can show them SFB, FC, Starmada, or A Call to Arms, and take a look at all of the other kinds of miniatures games out there. If you accidentally win one of their prizes (say, a box of Napoleonic miniatures) you can probably trade them to someone at your home game store or on a gaming forum for something more to your liking.

Custom Decals for Starline ships

Tenneshington Decals recently added a new decal set product, designed to work with the Starline 2500 Squadron Box #7 (Federation Reinforcements). This is in addition to their existing products, associated to the Squadron Box #1 and Federation Fleet Box.

The new decal set includes complete markings for a DN(G) dreadnought, BC(H) battlecruiser, NCA new heavy cruiser, NCL new light cruiser, and a DW war destroyer, along with bonus banners, windows, and other useful graphics.

Individual decal sheets for those ships are also now offered as well.

As with all their products, the names on the ships are up to the customer and all sheets are custom-printed to order.

Rated Ace Tournament 37 is ready for the final round between Paul Scott and Marcus Giegerich. Stay tuned to our page on Facebook or to the BBS to find out when it will be flown. The judge is Kerry Mullan.

Rated Ace Tournament 38 has all third-round games finished and half of the fourth-round games are completed. Keep tuned -- there is a possibility of a Kzinti civil war in Round 4! Judge Peter Bakija certainly is keeping this one moving along. Good luck everyone!

Andromedan Playtest Tournament has seen nine of the 16 scheduled games played. So far, there still have been two Andromedan wins and we continue watch this tournament with interest. Peter Bakija anticipates it picking back up after some of the intense tournaments wind down.

Flying Deuces is contemplating a change in format. Paul Franz is managing this tournament.

Winter 2012 FCOL Tourney has Round Four (the final round) matchups posted. There are eleven players competing and this round should be completed by the end of July. Jim Dauphinais is the judge.

Summer 2012 FCOL Tournament format is now being discussed.

NetKill Patrol for the First Quarter 2012 is over. Brendan Lally has earned the right to be known as Sir_Tartan_Army.

SFBOL World League is in the semifinals and it looks like Team Action Cats! are heading for the finals.

Platinum Hat 2012 had registrations end at midnight on July 9. Judge Peter Bakija and Tournament Marshall Steven Petrick will no doubt be working on seeding the tree. We're excited to see the field is larger than last year's competition!

Please send information to Jean via the email in her BBS profile, PM on the Mongoose or Federation Commander forums, or Message on Facebook. If you want convention support, please contact Mike Sparks at support@StarFleetGames.com. Your convention must meet a few simple requirements (one of which is being held in the United States due to shipping costs) which are here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/sfb/tournament/tourn_main.shtml

Council of Five Nations is the annual adventure gaming convention held every
year on Coumbus Day Weekend in October. Council is host to the largest
face-to-face Star Fleet Battles tournament in the world. Council 35 will be
held on October 8-10 this year, at the Proctor's Conference Center in
Schenectady, NY.

Once again, the Council SFB tournament is a Sanctioned Rated Ace event. We
expect to offer an Ace Card to the winner, and two Ace Cards is a reasonable
goal if we get 32+ attendees. (We have averaged mid-to-high 20s in SFB
attendance for over five years in a row.)

Thank you, and we hope to see you at Council of Five Nations this year.

The Annual Ithaca Cup Team Tournament will be on Saturday, July 14th, starting at noon, probably in Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is a light-hearted day of SFB tournament play where Team Ithaca battles Team SWA (mercenaries welcome!), battling for the possession of the coveted Ithaca Cup. Anyone who lives reasonably nearby (Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, etc.) is invited. It should be a fun day of SFB tournament play vs. all sorts of people. Most people play two or three games, keeping track of wins and losses by team. The team with the best record at the end of the day wins. And there is usually pizza!

Skirmish 2012 is going to be held on July 28, 2012 in Plano, Texas. Clay Dougherty will host Fly in to the Neutral Zone!, an ACTASF event. For more information, see http://www.dfwirregulars.com/

Gen Con will be held August 16-19, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. On Friday at 9:00 am, Randy Blair will run "SURVIVOR!! It's a race against time as starship after starship arrive to plunder the dilithium graveyard guarded by a malevolent and starving Dilithium Crystal Entity that feeds off of warp producing power systems.If you survive both the creature and your opponents and manage to get off the map with a few dilithium crystals and other goodies, then you will return home to a hero's welcome. Check here to see if he will be running another game on Saturday.

Download Transmissions

HAILING FREQUENCIES: This is our newsletter and will let you know all the news for all our games. You can subscribe here. Have you missed an earlier newsletter? Click here to get caught up!

COMMUNIQUE: The latest Communique brings you more Ship Cards, scenarios, and more news from the Star Fleet Universe! It can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle.

COMMANDER'S CIRCLE: We continue to improve theCommander's Circle. All of the ships and scenarios are available as separate documents (the ships are organized by empire) so you can quickly see what is available. The FC Scenario Database and Master Ship Chart documents are also here. Our newest project was suggested by our players and is uploading low-toner Ship Cards. The Commander's Circle is the best place to find free additions to Federation Commander!

FC Forum Recent Posts

The Federation Commander site and Forum continue to grow as more gamers continue to find them. All of our games currently have topics in the Forum. If you have any comments, questions, or requests for our Graphics Director, this is the place to let him know. Come see what the commotion is about and join the Federation Commander Forum now.

We are very pleased to see the medals, honor bars, and ribbons awarded to players being incorporated into their signatures. It is exciting to see lots of interesting conversations about a wide variety of subjects.
Get in on the
activity!

While for new players the Federation Commander Forum is a little easier to
manage, the original (Discus-based) BBS is where most product development
takes place. If you have a proposal you'd like to see worked on, don't forget to
make sure it is mentioned here. It also has active F&E and SFB forums where
players run campaigns, Rated Ace tournaments and other SFB tournaments are organized (most FC tournaments are organized on the Forum), SVC's "My
Day" appears, along with current news and strategies dealing with Prime Directive, and each issue of Captain's Log is created. While less colorful
(no avatars or sigs), it is a vital part of ADB, Inc.'s communications.

Advanced Operations brought the Federation CF1 casual F-111 group to match the Coalition's CPF (casual PF flotillas). The CF1s were a pale shadow of a real CPF since they could only be deployed at bases. They were a unit, like a monitor, destined to face the enemy once - at best - and not worth buying because their use depended on the enemy attacking them. Now Planetary Operations allows a "megafighter trade-in" which lets the Federation build additional megafighters on Turns #28, #30, and #31 rather than the near useless CF1s.
Rule (535.12) in Planetary Operations states: "Empires can build additional megafighter packs by counting them against their PFT limit (after they are allowed to build PFTs) or against their allocation of casual PF flotillas (524.11)."
Costwise, an annuity CF1 costs nine Economic Points while a "pay as you go" CF1 costs three Economic Points plus 2.25 Economic Points of F-111 factors. Both kinds of CF1s can fight the enemy, but neither kind can seek them out.
The ship-based mega-markers come in the +2 combat potential (five Economic Point) standard fighter varieties (F-14, F-15, and F-18) and the +1 combat potential, heavy fighter varieties (A-20 and F-111). They can go wherever their carriers do to face the enemy.
So ditch the casual F-111s and "megafighter up" three more Federation carriers for more real offensive punch!
(End of F&E Strategy of the Month)

Demotivationals

Throughout the month our graphics director places on the website various cards called Demotivationals. These are like postcards with an image and a phrase that is often used for humor.
These are the Demotivationals for the month of May:ConvergenceHarbingerPreparations

Mini of the Month
Every month we will feature one or more of our miniatures that has been painted by a fan. If you paint miniatures, submit pictures of your minis and they may be selected for the next Mini of the Month!

To be released during 2013
A Call to Arms Star Fleet #2,
BattleFleets, TBA (JV-Mongoose)
Federation Admiral, Stock #4080, $TBA

PDF SALES: ADB, Inc. continues its relationship with Steve Jackson Games and their e23 Warehouse. We chose e23 because they have a philosophy that agrees with ours -- our customers are honest and honorable and wouldn't aid people who want to steal our products. Furthermore, we know from experience how devastating a computer crash can be and want our customers to know that they don't have to worry about the loss of their e-products bought through e23. What do we have there? We have created a new page that allows easy access to our PDFs for sale on e23. From here you can see what we currently have posted and have links to those products.

Commodore Arrax was not pleased. This was his last operation before his planned retirement, and it had started out badly. He had been looking forward to his reintegration into Sphere society, but not with the stigma of defeat following him everywhere. While the loss of the four fighters was annoying, it was to be expected. Even now a fast carrier resupply corvette was offloading replacement fighters. The loss of four highly-trained fighter pilots and the de facto destruction of the convoy were much more regrettable. He struggled to keep his body emitting a calming, golden glow as he looked at each subordinate that had gathered around the meeting table. This will assure them that I am still in control, although I suspect that I am tingeing red with anger in places."The convoy's escort ship was able to pick up one of our pilots, Commodore. He should be returned to us as soon as we can arrange transport." Arrax twirled in his chair to face the speaker, eyes glowing as he regarded the Tholian that spoke."That is the one thing the escort did correctly, Squadron Leader, and it is a small comfort. I would have expected my pilots to be better able to defend a convoy or themselves than was shown." The air between them shimmered with heat waves, but with the help of his magnetic sense, he was able to see the officer clearly. The officer was clearly perturbed, judging from the reddish-orange glow that transfused her from head to the lower, tapered point of her pillar-shaped crystalline body."Then perhaps we should have had a better report from Intel, Sir. I had no idea that my pilots would be facing a full squadron of the best Klingon fighters, and no information that the fighters would be backed up by a drone bombardment cruiser. Indeed, I had no information that a drone bombardment cruiser was even in the area." The Squadron Leader spun furiously toward another officer, her body floating up a full foot above her eggcup shaped chair as she did so. She pointed one hand sharply at him and her eyes flared intensely as she regarded the major that was serving as the intelligence officer for this operation.
The Intel officer leaned forward uneasily in his chair, his lower point maintaining just enough contact to keep himself grounded. Arrax noted that he was shaded with purple, evidently embarrassed at his failure to predict the enemy's course of action. Before the officer could formulate a taut reply, the commodore leaned forward and interrupted the squabble before it could begin."Since this engagement, have you been able to ascertain the source of the fighter strike that destroyed the convoy, Major Zira?" He saw the officer lean back, struggling to bring his thoughts back to where they needed to be, and away from the accusatory pilot. Focus, I need him to focus. After a moment, the officer spoke."Sir, as soon as we realized that a major strike was underway, we sent a message requesting that other intelligence assets be tasked to track the fighters back to their recovery point." The officer paused, looking at him for his approval to continue. Arrax bobbed up and down in assent. Even though this area of the Holdfast-Klingon border was relatively small, compared to the size of the galaxy itself, the volume of space within that area was still enormous compared to the ships that they were trying to track. It often required more resources than they had onboard to track enemy units through the vastness of space.
(Continue reading here)

Ask Admiral GrowlerSHUTTLECRAFT

George Duffy asks: With regards to transferring a shuttle from one shuttle box to another shuttle box within the same bay, if two deck crews were used in the transfer would the time be cut in half (16 impulses) as described in (J4.817)?ANSWER: Sorry, but no. Rule (J1.594) says "It takes one entire turn (starting with Impulse #1) to move any shuttle to another box (or pair of boxes) within the same bay." It does not say "It takes one deck crew action to move any shuttle to another box (or pair of boxes) within the same bay."Moving a shuttle from one box of a given bay to another box of a given bay is not a deck crew action. Deck crew use for this purpose is not required in either (J1.594) or mentioned anywhere in (J4.81).Follow-up question: A suicide shuttle is armed and is being held, paying a holding cost during Energy Allocation.Can said shuttle be transferred to another box within the same bay, within a turn before the next turn's Energy Allocation step and still considered being held?Or is it considered to have discharged its energy and would have to start the charging procedure all over again?ANSWER: Suicide shuttles cannot be transferred after the arming process has begun. You can only abandon the arming process, or complete it and hold the armed shuttle. If you could move the armed suicide shuttle, you would be able to move it to a balcony of a ship with a balcony and track system, and this is specifically prohibited: "(J1.534) Scatter-packs can be held on the balcony; suicide shuttles and wild weasels cannot. The targeting of scatter-packs held on the balcony can be determined on the impulse of launch."Follow-up question: Rule (J2.2213) says that reserve power can be used for holding a suicide shuttle. Which would seem to support that energy used for holding is not considered continuous.ANSWER: Better reread the rule, it does not say that reserve energy can be applied to hold the suicide shuttle, it says it can be applied to the shuttle ". . . (up to the limit of nine total points)." What the rule is telling you is that if you had a suicide shuttle armed with say six points of power (say 2+2+2) and being held, you could apply up to three points of reserve power to bring it to its full warhead potential (nine points of power). It does not say you can fail to pay the holding cost during Energy Allocation [which (J2.2122) very clearly says you cannot do] and then apply reserve power in mid turn to not lose it.
( Ask Growler continues here. )

F&E Q&ATHE RAID'S THE THING IN WHICH TO TRAP THE KING

Q: If the initial combat (314.244) is successful for the raider (or no damage is done by either side), via alternative attack, can the raider attack the ship that reacted into the hex, or can it only attack ships which started the raid phase in the hex?A: The check for "any single unit of its choice in the raid target hex" (314.28) is done after the reaction of the ship into the raid target hex. So, yes, you can attack the reacting ship if you wish.Q: Can a Prime Team (534.2) raid a crippled ship (which is outside of three hexes, so it can't be captured) to destroy it?A: There is no "destroy crippled ship" mission listed, so, no.Q: Can a Prime Team do an Espionage & Sabotage mission to cripple a police ship? As there is no crippled side, the ship would be killed instead of being crippled.A: It won't be killed, but this would effectively eliminate the police ship as per (532.22) since they will be removed from the map as they return to their base of operations to be repaired and returned to police duties which are not game related. Q: A legal unit performing a blockade run (320.511) must have a friendly or neutral hex as its target when performing this type of raid. Does the presence of friendly ships in enemy territory meet the requirement of making the hex a valid target?A: In the raid phase, a hex occupied solely by your side is considered a friendly hex.
(End of F&E Q&A.)

ASK AUNT JEAN

Dear Aunt Jean, whenever you get asked a question, you usually answer it so
fast. How do you do it?
A: I'm a librarian and that's my superpower! No, really, many times I use the
Site Master Index which is located here:
http://www.starfleetgames.com/masterindex.shtml

It has lots of good links and sometimes I just enjoy browsing there to find
interesting things. If I get really stuck, I use the search button on our home
page which takes me here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/search.html That is a simple Google search and many times will bring me directly to what I
need to find. If I get really, really stuck, I ask a Steve and I can get an
answer and bring it back to the person who asked the question.

Send questions to Jean at design@StarFleetGames.com and SVC will decide which one Jean will answer next. (End of Ask Aunt Jean )

We have also uploaded new Xander wallpapers to our Wallpapers section on the website.Wallpapers

We have new images of our next game Star Fleet Marines posted on our BBS topic page.

STAR FLEET ALERTS

These are the press releases we send to the wholesalers, retailers, and media. You can get on the mailing list for them by asking Marketing@StarFleetGames.com to add you to the list. (Obviously, they are free.) They are uploaded to the Star Fleet Alert page

FC Tactic of the MonthBORING IN ON THE THOLIANS - Cadet Burke G. Sheppard, USS North Carolina

For a Klingon player, Tholians can be among the toughest opponents in Federation Commander. Tholian ships are better shielded, and have excellent Turn Modes. They generally have a good suite of FX phaser-1s, as well as disruptors. Some are fitted with a web caster, which can be used to throw a web fist, which is something like a photon torpedo would be if photon torpedoes could fire every turn and had a 50-50 hit probability at Range 20. They may have actual photon torpedoes as well. Against this kind of long-range firepower, the Klingons simply cannot saber dance the way they can against Federation ships, because the cold, hard fact is that at long range, the Tholians can inflict more damage. Tholians fitted with web generators can use a web snare, which gives them a very effective and energy-efficient defense against drones.
The Tholians also have weaknesses, however, which a shrewd Klingon commander can exploit. They have no seeking weapons, apart from suicide shuttles. This means that the Klingons can make free use of evasive maneuvers. The Tholians have fewer transporters than the Klingons, and a lot fewer Marines. It is risky for them even to attempt hit-and-run raids, since heavy losses of boarding parties may leave them unable to fight off a boarding attempt. Tholian ships tend to be chronically under-powered. Most cannot power all of their weapons and still plot Speed 24, although there are exceptions. Finally, although the Tholians have good shields, once these go down there is usually not much actual ship in there. They cannot take a lot of internal damage.(FC Tactic of the Month Continues Here)

SFB Tactic of the MonthWHO NEEDS TO GET INTO SPACE? - Lieutenant Commander Mike Grafton, USS South Carolina

There are a number of troublesome issues with defending your planet with fighter bases on the surface if there is an atmosphere. All of that "climbing to orbit" stuff is tedious and time-consuming, and far from the "wild black yonder".
One way to turn the tables somewhat is to use the fighters and/or bombers in the atmosphere.
Do some deck crew actions (double up the deck crews) for half the turn and then launch (even if your fighters are not all fully armed yet) so as to have their post launch restrictions completed before Impulse #32. Fire all your phasers against the seeking weapons the enemy has launched that are waiting to enter the atmosphere, and then immediately land back at your base.
You can, if you time this well, still get some deck crew actions (doubled up deck crews are best here) in the same turn where you used your fighters against seeking weapons.(End of SFB Tactic of the Month)